Carrick Knowe are Scottish Inter County Top Ten champions

Carrick Knowe celebrate winning the Scottish Inter County Top Ten title

Their excellent 6-2 win on points over Wellington Park of Renfrewshire in the semi-final was capped by a superb effort across the four disciplines to beat Northern of Bon Accord by a handsome 21 shots after a 4-4 share of the points in the final.

Whilst the final outcome could well have been an 8-0 triumph for Carrick Knowe, the Capital outfit were denied by last-end drama in the Singles and Triples. However, the winning performances that secured the title were delivered in the Fours and the Pairs under skips Darren Hush and Colin Mitchell, respectively.

Carrick Knowe had never got past the semi-final stage before and Mitchell reflected: “This trophy is the Holy Grail for clubs and to have our name inscribed on it ranks as the most major achievement in the history of Carrick Knowe.”

Veteran figure Alan Poole revealed: “Playing a part in this means I am bowing out on a monumental high for Carrick Knowe and me.”

Carrick Knowe are the fourth club to bring the title back to Edinburgh, following in the footsteps of Craigentinny in 1986, Gorgie Mills in 1990, and Slateford in 1996 and 1997.

The Carrick Knowe mettle was tested early on in the final as their Triple of Poole, Graham Pringle and James Hogg were six-shot victims of a brilliant ‘chap ‘n lie’ from opposing skip Kevin Harper on the first end.

Richard Tough was putting up a bold show in the Singles as he battled back from 17-11 down to finish with a damage-limiting 21-20 defeat.

Tough’s fightback of 2, 1, 3, (1), 3 had seen him lay for game at 20-18. However, his opponent Ross Stewart burnt the jack then snatched victory with a 1, 2 counterpunch.

Darren Hush had gone through the campaign undefeated in the Fours and an encouraging start in the final saw him skip Stephen Pringle, John Priestley and Paul O’Donnell into a 10-2 lead that they converted into a commanding 21-9 win over Steven Thomson.

Meanwhile, in the Triples, Hogg skipped his trio to a landslide run of 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2,1 that swept them into a 13-12 lead before suffering a 15-14 defeat that cost two points but the minimum threat on the shot-margin count.

The Pairs was last to finish and, having battled well to stand 7-7 after nine ends then advancing to 10-8, the partnership of Kevin Tennant and Colin Mitchell sparkled with a magic run of 2, 3, 2 , 2 to beat Jim Shea and Neil McIntosh 19-8.

So the potential 8-0 win had been reduced to a 4-4 share with the superior shot margin of 74 to 53 the deciding factor.